DETROIT — Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, so often described by analysts the last few months as the most polarizing at his position in this year’s NFL draft, finally knows his NFL destination.

McCarthy, who helped lead Michigan to the 2023 national championship and was 27-1 as a two-year starter, was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 10 overall pick in the three-day draft that began Thursday night in Detroit. The Vikings made a trade with the New York Jets to move up a spot and grab McCarthy.

For the sixth straight year, Michigan has produced at least one first-round selection. The program had a record 18 players invited to the NFL scouting combine and is looking to break Georgia’s record of 15 players drafted in 2022.

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, described McCarthy before last season as a “once-in-a-generational” type of quarterback and compared him to NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in terms of talent and the willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team. Last October, Harbaugh said McCarthy was on the path to being the best quarterback in Michigan history and would be the quarterback “all future quarterbacks are compared to.”

During the 2023 season, McCarthy completed 72.3% of his passes, which ranked sixth nationally. He threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with four interceptions. He ranked ninth nationally in pass efficiency. He was named the Big Ten’s Quarterback of the Year and the most valuable offensive player of the Rose Bowl national semifinal. He also ran for 202 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns.

As a first-time starter in 2022, McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards while completing 64.6% of his attempts and had 22 touchdowns against five interceptions. He helped lead the Wolverines to a 45-23 win at Ohio State, for the program’s first win in Ohio Stadium since 2000, a second-straight Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth.

Operating in Michigan’s offense, McCarthy did not generate the type of gaudy numbers like USC’s Caleb Williams or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Hence, the hand wringing about what type of quarterback McCarthy might be at the next level.

“Part of it is the system and philosophy Michigan had, which wasn’t quarterback-reliant,” Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt said Wednesday in Detroit, explaining why there was so much discussion of McCarthy and how he might fare at the next level. “They were going to win a lot of games regardless of who the quarterback was. When you get in this draft process, they want to see a quarterback their team was totally reliant on. Like Michael Penix at Washington, and Caleb Williams is that way. They didn’t need J.J. to be great all the time.”

Michigan was reliant on a physical run game and a dominant defense, which didn’t mean McCarthy was simply a placeholder for the offense, but the offense didn't rely on his arm. His performance on third down, however, was critical last season. McCarthy was 53 for 79 (67.1%) on third down and in third-and-7-plus situations, he was 36 for 49 (73.4%) for 544 yards with 27 first downs or touchdowns (six).

“That was remarkable last year,” Klatt said of McCarthy in third-and-long situations. “This guy is incredible in those situations. He’s confident. Those things are going to serve him well at the next level.”

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